Virginia Tech picked to rule ACC

Virginia Tech's poll numbers are slipping, but the Hokies still rate a clear choice to rule ACC football.

Such was the verdict of media attending the conference's preseason kickoff Monday. The question was, can Virginia Tech parlay a league title into a national championship?

"I think if you're in the hunt enough times, one of these days it's going to work out," coach Frank Beamer said. "That's our plan."

Win or lose a compelling opener against Boise State on Labor Day night in Landover, Md., the Hokies should be in the national hunt come November. That's when they face consecutive tests against their top Coastal Division rivals: Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Miami, the latter two on the road.

Sure, the Hokies could lose one of the seven games between Boise State and Georgia Tech. But they shouldn't.

Not with an offense quarterbacked by Tyrod Taylor, an efficient, unflappable senior, and led by Ryan Williams, the best tailback of Beamer's 24 years in Blacksburg.

Not with a defense that, while young, boasts NFL-caliber players such as tackle John Graves and cornerback Rashad Carmichael.

ACC media certainly like Virginia Tech. Among 98 voters, 62 picked the Hokies to win the Coastal Division. Miami was next with 20.

The ACC championship game victor in Charlotte? Fifty tabbed Virginia Tech, with Florida State a distant second at 26.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe chimed in by saying that the Hokies have all the ingredients to claim a national title. Understand that as an Alabama graduate and an assistant coach on Tennessee's 1998 national championship team, Cutcliffe understands what it takes.

"I'm surprised actually at the (lopsided) numbers," Beamer said, "because I really think there's a lot of really good teams in the ACC. … It kind of makes a statement about our program in general."

Beamer said much the same a year ago, when an even larger majority, 89.7 percent of voters, liked Virginia Tech to rule the division, 79.3 percent to win the conference. Just as Beamer warned, the Hokies finished two games behind Georgia Tech.

But Beamer's bunch should be better, especially on offense. And after Boise State, which returns every offensive starter from a 14-0 team, Virginia Tech encounters lesser opponents that figure to give the defense time to develop.

"I know we're going to be a good defense," Beamer said. "But how quickly?"

By an early October trip to North Carolina State would be advisable, given the skills of Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson (48 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions in two seasons).